Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/01/2021 *Starred Review* The year is 1940, and German air strikes on London are looming. After their formidable, wealthy grandmother’s funeral, orphans William (12 years old), Edmund (11), and Anna (9) Pearce learn that they will be evacuated to a village where (the solicitor charged with their welfare hopes) they might find a permanent home. They live with a butcher’s family until Edmund retaliates against one of the bullying sons by placing a dead snake in his bed. A desperately poor mother with four young children takes them in but barely feeds them. Their only refuge is the lending library, where they find a warm fire, good books, and kind words. After their short-tempered caretaker slaps Edmund, the children strike out on their own and unexpectedly find a new home on Christmas Eve. Albus achieves a great deal in her first novel. While the Pearces’ initially bleak situation is firmly rooted in classic children’s books (a bibliography of their reading choices is appended), the narrative is fresh, lively, and captivating. The characters are drawn with conviction and a good deal of empathy. Lit by wit and humanity, the novel offers a heartening story in which three resourceful children keep a secret, find what they long for, and treasure it. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 03/11/2022 Gr 4–7—It's 1940 in London, and William, Edmund, and Anna have found themselves orphaned for the second time in their short lives. With the Nazis breathing down England's neck, the children are sent, with hundreds of other children, to the countryside to live with a billet, a foster family that takes them in temporarily and protects them from the war. Their family's solicitor has advised them to be on the lookout for a family that could be a forever home for them while there. The oldest, William, has the best memories of their mum and dad and often tells stories about them to his siblings, one being that the children were so loved that they could probably hang the moon in the heavens if they wanted to. With that in mind, the three of them know that only a family that thinks the children "hang the moon in the heavens" will be the right fit. While away in the countryside, the children stay with a variety of families, some more traditional than others. With the solace of the little library as their only constant and the town librarian their only friend, the children learn to piece together a family until a real one is found. Told in third person, Albus's rich character descriptions and quick story pace will keep tweens turning the pages until the very end. Vivid details of World War II-era England are written from a child's perspective. Characters are white. VERDICT For fans of Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life, this is a highly recommended purchase. Readers will laugh, cry, and root for the three siblings as they endeavor to survive in this endearing tale.—Tracy Cronce - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.